This morning we got an early start. Our first task was mulching around some plants. That took about an hour and everybody helped. It was nice to beat the heat, and Liz was happy with the outcome. After putting the tools away we packed a snack and drove to Henry Horton. We were the only ones at the playground initially, but eventually several other kids came. Luke enjoyed playing in the sand and on the equipment. We returned home for lunch and after a slight attempt at a nap we hit the road again. This time we headed to Stillhouse Hollow Falls, which is on the way to Lawrenceburg. The hike to the falls was mostly downhill and Luke loved seeing the stream and wildflowers. He also like meeting other people and dogs. When we got to the falls he was pretty impressed. The hike back was challenging but he walked for most of it. I carried him for the last stretch up to the car. We went home and played until dinner time. He ate a ton, but started to cop an attitude at bath time. He threw up due to running away from Liz and was pretty shaken p by that. After a second bath he was in a good mood and went to bed. He sang less than usual, probably due to exhaustion. I will be staying at home tonight and driving up to the Mountain tomorrow.

The excavator texted about seven this morning to say he was on the way, so I headed on to the job site. I did some last minute preparations and they showed up about eight with a tracked skid and mini-ex. I showed them the layout of everything and they started moving dirt, a lot of it. One site was close to level and the other wasn’t. So they were able to level one up, but the other will have two steps in the footings. One of the guys and I went to lunch at the Goat Market and after that I laid out the footings and they dug. That took until about four. I left there, went back to the cottage to pack up, then drove home. My parents were there when I arrived, and everybody was finishing up dinner. Luke stretched out bath and bed time and I have been reading a little. It was a draining day.

After dorking around this morning I drove down to the surplus store in Woodbury where I bought 360 sheets of OSB at a cost of over $12,000. That represented a huge savings over other vendors, but it still stung. From there I drove to Lowe’s in Shelbyville for rebar ties and chairs. I drove home as quickly as I could, and made it home well before dinner so that I could play with Luke a bit.